Court upholds sentence imposed on Lancaster man who slashed his baby

LANCASTER – A state appellate court has upheld the lengthy prison term imposed on a Pennsylvania man convicted of kidnapping his newborn daughter, slashing her neck and cramming her into a trash bag inside a backpack.

David Sleets was found guilty last year of attempted murder and sentenced to 26 to 52 years in prison.

The 38-year-old Lancaster man claimed a jury should not have seen “inflammatory” photos of his month-old daughter lying in a hospital bed with a slashed neck. But the appellate panel found they were legitimately entered as evidence to show the extent of the girl’s wounds.

Prosecutors say Sleets snatched the baby from the mother’s house and took off, tossing the backpack underneath a car.

The mother followed him and rescued her baby, taking her to the hospital.

Lawyers say Sleets has schizophrenia and had stopped taking medication.

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